The president expressed particular concern about drug abuse among young people.

"Rap and other modern [forms of art] are rested upon three pillars - sex, drugs and protest," he said. "I am most worried about drugs. This is the way towards the degradation of a nation."

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President Putin believes rap should be controlled, not banned

Mr Putin also said he was worried about bad language in rap, saying he had spoken to a linguist about it.

While she had explained to him that swearing is "a part of our language", Mr Putin compared it to the human body, joking that "we have all sorts of body parts, and it's not like we put them on display all the time".

The Russian government has long had a complicated relationship with music.